The Dish

The future as imagined in 1969:

(Hat tip: Kottke)

"What did happen is precisely what the Catholic Church wanted to happen – I denied who I was to myself, everyone else, and to God.  That took an immeasurable toll on my life, and still does.

Because if you deny truth to God, that’s the biggest sin of all.  Sin of that nature is powerful.  So powerful, it will destroy whoever succumbs to it.   The Closet is not holy, it is not truth, it is not God’s intention, it is the flimsy work of man in service to a lie, and nothing built on lies lasts forever.  That includes a sitting pope who is standing at the door of The Closet with the keys he claims Christ handed him to keep it shut," – Tim Russo.

Bernstein argues that hate for Congress, in an of itself, isn't a good enough reason to demand reform:

People always hate Congress.  Mark Twain hated Congress.  Will Rogers hated Congress.  Johnny Carson hated Congress.  Jay Leno hates Congress, and I suppose the disembodied head of Jay Leno will be hating Congress decades into the future.  That Congress is unpopular is about as remarkable as a Joss Whedon show getting lousy ratings on network TV.

Theodore Dalrymple compares:

[S]elf-esteem is but a division of self-importance, which is seldom an attractive quality. That person is best who never thinks of his own importance: to think about it, even, is to be lost to morality. Self-respect is another quality entirely. Where self-esteem is entirely egotistical, requiring that the world should pay court to oneself whatever oneself happens to be like or do, and demands nothing of the person who wants it, self-respect is a social virtue, a discipline, that requires an awareness of and sensitivity to the feelings of others. It requires an ability and willingness to put oneself in someone else's place; it requires dignity and fortitude, and not always taking the line of least resistance.

A stunning series of photos.

Today on the Dish, Andrew tackled the Vatican at length – scrutinizing its latest attack on the NYT, explaining why reports of abuse popped up in the '60s and '70s. and analyzing why so many of the abusers appear to be gay. A reader shared a revealing experience with Ratzinger, another offered her expert opinion on girl abuse, and another put forth more evidence of a dark ancient past. Also, E.D. Kain returned fire, the John Jay authors sided with Andrew, and the Vatican invoked legal immunity.

As Palin escalated her TV career, her favorables plummeted. Reader commentary on "Drill, Barack, Drill" here and here. Related Yglesias Award here and Moore here. Unrelated Hewitts here and here and Malkins here, here, and basically here. Cool ad here. April Fools coverage here, here, and here. Awesome MHB here.

— C.B.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean," – Jesus of Nazareth.

"We should be grateful for the attention which the media devotes to the sins of Catholic clergy, even if constant repetition may give the false impression that Catholic clergy are particularly sinful. That attention is a profound tribute to the priesthood which we celebrate at this Mass of the Chrism. People instinctively expect holiness in a Catholic priest, and are especially appalled when he does evil," – Thomas Collins, archbishop of Toronto.

(Hat tip: Douthat).

My big posts on this subject today can be found here and here.

Because it's my blog and I'll post what I want to. More here.

A few days ago Bret Stephens argued that a Lady Gaga video does more to "galvanize radical anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world" than Israeli settlements. So Stephens is now echoing Dinesh D'Souza? Andrew Exum responded posting a few racy Arabic-language music videos. Now Thomas Hegghammer weighs in:

How do we know that Palestine is more important than Westernization for the anti-American jihadists? First, al Qaeda's leaders have spoken more often about Palestine and other political issues (pdf) than about moral corruption. Second, when al Qaeda recruits cite their reasons for joining, they more often mention Palestine, Chechnya, and other political issues (pdf) than they do examples of Westernization. Third, incidents of anti-American violence and vandalism in the Middle East have tended to increase during or shortly after dramatic events in Palestine. Fourth, recruitment to al Qaeda has tended to expand during or shortly after escalation of hostilities in Palestine. Fifth, al Qaeda militants are happy to embrace aspects of Western culture when it suits them — witness the use of videos and music in jihadi propaganda — and they are arguably more pragmatic about matters moral and ritual than many other Islamists.